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World Biofuels
Symposium
November 13-15, 2005
Beijing, China
2nd Annual Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit
December 13-15, 2005
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hosted by:
Candadian Renewable Fuels
Association
National Biodiesel
Conference & Expo 2006
February 5-8, 2006
San Diego, California
Organizer:
National Biodiesel Board
11th Annual
National Ethanol Conference: "Policy & Marketing"
February 20-22, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Sponsored by:
Renewable Fuels Association
22nd
Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
June 20-23, 2006
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted on
October 22, 2003Kansas-grown fuel at the pump BY PHYLLIS JACOBS GRIEKSPOOR
Wichita joined more fully in the Farm Belt's embrace of ethanol Tuesday with the official opening of the area's first gas station offering E85 fuel -- a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
Even as the number of ethanol-producing plants in Kansas has grown, the state has been slower than others in the Midwest to make ethanol blends available. The ethanol industry is important to agriculture because it provides another market for grain.
The new Kwik Shop at 53rd North and Maize Road in Maize is only the second retail outlet in the state to offer the E85 blend. The Kwik Shop also offers the more common 10 percent ethanol blend, E10.
Kansas has five operating ethanol plants, including Abengoa Bioenergy in Colwich. A dozen more are in the works or under consideration.
In recognition of the economic potential of ethanol, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and the state's secretary of agriculture, Adrian Polansky, were on hand Tuesday for the official opening of the Kwik Shop.
Polansky said making ethanol available to the public is a major goal.
"Both Iowa and Illinois have about a 50 percent market share for ethanol blends," Polansky said. "Nebraska has about 35 percent. As of last winter, Kansas had 2 percent. We even had contracts that made it so you couldn't buy ethanol for the state vehicle. That has changed."
Sebelius noted that renewable energy was an issue that came up repeatedly in her recent series of prosperity summits across the state.
She said that the Legislature has provided new incentives for ethanol use and that state cars now burn ethanol blends. In addition, she said, new cars purchased for the state fleet will be "flex-fuel" cars, capable of burning E85.
Only specific models of recently manufactured vehicles can use E85. They have computers that detect what type of fuel is in the tank and adjust the engine accordingly. A car's operating manual should say whether it can handle E85 fuel.
All cars are capable of burning E10.
Ethanol production has become an increasingly big business in Kansas and the Midwest as the nation seeks an alternative to the petroleum product MTBE as a clean-air additive for gasoline. MTBE has problems as a groundwater pollutant and is a carcinogen.
Ethanol, on the other hand, is environmentally friendly. It does not pollute soil, surface water or groundwater, and it significantly reduces toxic tailpipe emissions from vehicles.
As more states consider bans on MTBE, the demand for ethanol has grown. California is scheduled to ban MTBE by the end of this year, which should spur growth even more.
Kansas has five operating ethanol plants: Abengoa, U.S. Energy Partners at Russell, MGP at Atchison, Reeves AgriEnergy at Garden City and ESE at Leoti. All but MGP use either corn or grain sorghum as feed stock. MGP uses wheat to produce gluten, fuel ethanol and beverage alcohol.
Source: The Wichita Eagle
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